Robert Hest
MPP , Research Fellow

p 612-624-5507
e hestx005@umn.edu

SHADAC at the 2021 Virtual AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM)

The 2021 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM) is taking place virtually this week from June 14-17. Researcher and State Health Compare manager Robert Hest will be presenting on behalf of SHADAC at the national conference. His presentations include:

Trends in Health Insurance Coverage during the COVID-19 Pandemic: New Monthly Evidence from the Household Pulse Survey - Robert Hest, MPP; Yun Taek Oh, MPP; Lynn A. Blewett, MPA, PhD
Monday, June 14, 2021 | 12:30 PM-12:45 PM (Late-breaking session)

The COVID-19 pandemic has created historically large disruptions to the economy and health insurance coverage at a time when having access to health care is especially important. Our study uses a new data source, the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey, to examine how coverage has evolved over the course of the pandemic, presenting monthly estimates of coverage from late-April 2020 through April 2021 by Medicaid Expansion status and race/ethnicity. We found substantial disruptions to employer-sponsored coverage during the pandemic that were partially offset by increases in Medicaid coverage, highlighting the critical importance of Medicaid as a safety net program. Coverage disruptions were not felt equally throughout the population, with Hispanic and Black adults, as well adults identifying with some "other or multiple races," facing larger coverage losses compared with White adults and the overall population. Click here to download slides.

Physician Acceptance of New Medicaid Patients: National and State-level Findings from the National Electronic Health Records Survey - Robert Hest, MPP; Martha Heberlein, MA
Tuesday, June 15, 2021 | 1:30-2:30 (State Health Research and Policy Interest Group)

Medicaid is an essential source of health insurance coverage for more than 86 million Americans, but providing access to care enrollees can be a challenge if physicians do not accept Medicaid patients. Our work provides new evidence from the National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS) about the percent of physicians who accept new Medicaid patients, presenting estimates at the state level and by physician and practice characteristics. Physicians are less likely to accept new Medicaid patients compared to patients with Medicare or private insurance coverage. The percent of physicians who accept new Medicaid patients varies substantially across states and across physician characteristics such as setting, specialty, existing Medicaid caseload, and ratio of mid-level providers. Click here to download slides.

View the full presentation schedule for SHADAC and our University of Minnesota colleagues, here.